Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, is the source of the famed Blue Nile and is where it starts its long journey to Khartoum, and then on to the Mediterranean. The 37 islands that are scattered about the surface of the lake shelter fascinating churches and monasteries. Some of which have histories dating back to the 13th century.

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Ethiopian Blue Nile Fall

The falls are approached on foot from the nearby village which gives their name “Tissisat” which means smoke of fire. After crossing over a castellated 17 th century Portuguese bridge that spans a deep basaltic rift, a grassy rise climbed and the falls suddenly appear breaking the smooth unfaltering flow of the Nile in to a boiling cataract and sending it foaming down a gorge below.

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The Rift Valleyof Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Rift Valley, which is part of the famous East African Rift Valley, comprises numerous hot springs , beautiful lakes and a variety of wildlife. The valley is the result of two parallel faults in the earth?s surface between which, in distant geological time, the crust was weakened, causing the land to subside. Ethiopia is often referred to as the ?water tower? of Eastern Africa becauseof the many rivers that pour off the high tableland. The Great Rift Valley?s passage through Ethiopia is marked by a chain of seven lakes. Each of the seven lakes has its own special domain providing ideal habitats for the exuberant variety of flora and fauna that make the region a beautiful and exotic destination.
Most of the lakes are safe for swimming and other water sports. Lakes Abiata and Shalla are ideal places for bird watchers. The Rift Valley lakes are not fully developed for tourism, though. Lake Langano has some tourist class hotels are built. The Rift Valley is also a site of numerous natural hot springs . The chemical contents of the hot springs are highly valued for their therapeutic purposes.

A crocodile farm, 70 documented mammals and over 350 bird species dwell along with 15endemic butterflies in this lush savannah. Zebras, hippos, gazelles and hartebeast are abundant, and you may be lucky enough to see an elephant or lion

The Afar area where the Ethiopian Rift Valley meets the Red Sea is one of the most inhospitable parts of the earth. Much of this area was flooded by the Red Sea , a flood that was subsequently stemmed by fresh volcanic activity that raised barriers of basaltic lava. Behind these barriers, the trapped inland sea that had formed began to evaporate under the fierce heat of the tropical sun a process that is almost complete today

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Sof Omar : Caves of Mystery

Follow the road east from Goba for 120 km through a low valley filled with thorn trees and wired funnels of termite hills, and you will come across one of the most spectacular and extensive underground caverns in the world. The Sof Omer Cave System formed by the Web River as it changed its course in the distant past and carved a new channel through limestone foothills, the Sof Omer Cave System is an extraordinary natural phenomenon of breathtaking beauty.
Here the Web River vanishes into this giant underground world with its arched portals, high eroded ceilings, and deep vaulted echoing chambers. This caves, now an important Islamic shrine named after the saintly Sheikh Sof Omer, who took refuge here many centuries ago, have a religious history that predates the arrival of the Muslims in Bale – a history collaborated in thousands, not hundreds, of years.
The approach to the cave is made through the tiny village of Sof Omer , perched on the cliffs above the Web River . To the rear of the village is a dark, gaping crevice down which a precipitous narrow footpath winds to the floor of the first cave.
You can explore the caves on foot, without special climbing equipment, but you must take proper precautions and not go alone. Torches or other lighting are needed, and another must is the map provided in the official brochure, available from your tour operator's office.
In the realm of dry, cool caves nature has worked a marvel of architecture – soaring pillars of stone twenty meter high, flying buttresses, fluted arch-ways, and tall airy vaults. Finally the river itself is reached, a sunless sea flowing through a deep gorge. Standing on the balcony near the roof, one has spectacular view of the river rushing along its course below.
Inside the cave the only living creatures are bats (which do not usually trouble the visitor) fish, and crustaceans crocodile are to be found in the river nearby but, perhaps fortunately, seems to shun the cave themselves. The country side around abounds with wildlife – dik dik and Kudu, serval cat, rock hyrax, giant tortoises, snakes and lizards as well as more than fifty species of birds.